Thai man kills baby on Facebook Live

A Thai man filmed himself killing his baby daughter on Facebook Live, before taking his own life, Thai police say.

The 21-year-old hanged his daughter, and then himself, at a deserted hotel in Phuket on Monday, reportedly after an argument with his wife.

Facebook sent condolences to the family for the “appalling” incident and said that the content had now been removed.

The company pledged a review of its processes after footage of a US killing stayed online for hours this month.

The footage of the Thai killing had also been available on video sharing website YouTube, but the company took it down after the BBC alerted it to its presence.

Social media anger

Relatives of the Thai man saw the distressing footage and alerted the police – but the authorities arrived too late to save the man and his daughter.

The footage shows the man tying a knot around his daughter’s neck, before dropping her from a rooftop. He then retrieves the body.

The Facebook Live post was widely reported by Thai media, and went viral on social media, BBC Thai editor Nopporn Wong-Anan reports.

In a statement, a Facebook spokesperson said: “This is an appalling incident and our hearts go out to the family of the victim. There is absolutely no place for content of this kind on Facebook and it has now been removed.”

YouTube said it had taken down the video within 15 minutes of being told of its presence by the BBC.

Its statement read: “YouTube has clear policies that outline what’s acceptable to post and we quickly remove videos that break our rules when they’re flagged.”

Shortly before the BBC alerted YouTube, the video was showing 2,351 views.

Thai social media users reacted with anger to the footage, while offering condolences to the family of the girl, our correspondent says.

Devastated relatives of the child, including the mother, picked up the body of the girl and her father from hospital on Tuesday.

Following the US killing, Facebook said it was “constantly exploring ways that new technologies can help us make sure Facebook is a safe environment”.

“We prioritise reports with serious safety implications for our community, and are working on making that review process go even faster,” blogged one of its executives last week.